A total of 901 overstaying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have returned home as a result of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s visit to these countries.
“Many of our kababayans facing difficulties abroad are clamoring for government to help them return home, so we are continuing our efforts to reunite then with their families,” he said. Binay is also the Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns.
The Vice President said he is exploring all avenues to bring the remaining stranded OFWs home as he encouraged the private sector to help in the repatriation. Binay cited Etihad Airlines which provided substantial discounts for the plane fares of repatriates.
According to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), there are currently 994 stranded OFWs worldwide as of August this year.
In Kuwait, 111 female OFWs who have been long-time wards of the POLO-OWWA Filipino Workers Resource Center have been repatriated through the Vice President’s intervention.
Seven hundred ninety OFWs were stranded for years at the Hajj Seaport Terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have also been sent home through the Vice President’s mass repatriation project in June 2011.
Binay secured special rates with Etihad Airlines on flights that took the OFWs home from June 1 to 8, 2011. All the stranded OFWs at the Hajj Terminal have returned to the country.
He was also able to obtain the consent of Saudi authorities to facilitate the repatriation of other overstaying OFWs at the resource centers in Riyadh and Jeddah, including in private homes.
Meanwhile, 125 OFWs in the Kingdom have also been granted amnesty for petty crimes in April of this year. Among those granted amnesty was an OFW pardoned of drug charges after being imprisoned for three years.
The pardon was given through concerted efforts by the Vice President who went to Saudi in March to personally reiterate the call for clemency.
The OFW met with Binay at the Office of the Vice President upon coming home.
An appeal was also made to Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah of Kuwait for the full pardon of 13 OFWs detained in Sulaibya Central Jail, and for the repatriation of 92 distressed workers.
As of August 2011, about 600 OFWs are considered eligible for pardon for petty crimes in Saudi Arabia. –Daily Tribune
March –
IT’S WOMEN’S MONTH!
“Respect and support women
every day of the year/s!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the recommendations of the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry
against serious violations of protocols of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association.
Accept the National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands
#Report Corruption #SearchPosts #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
Women’s Role in History Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 1: Environmental Week;
Women’s Week
Week 3: Philippine Industry and “
Made-in-the-Philippines Products Week
Last Week: Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment
of the Girl Child Week
Daily Observances:
March 8: Women’s Rights and
International Peace Day;
National Women’s Day
March 4: Employee Appreciation Day
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day
March 18: Global Recycling Day
March 21: International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
March 23: International Day for the Right to the Truth
Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations
and for the Dignity of Victims
March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the
Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
March 27: Earth Hour
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